# NTSB ATL03LA109: Keuthan Buccaneer II, N9110T, Pell City, AL, July 17, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 16, 2003, 19:45 local (Jul 17, 2003, 00:45 UTC) - Place: Pell City, AL - Coordinates: 33.563888, -86.247222 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.5639&lon=-86.2472&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Emergency descent](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/600) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 1, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Birmingham FSDO-09 - NTSB case key (mKey): 57497 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL03LA109 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57497/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL03LA109 ## Probable cause The failure of the throttle cable due to fatigue resulting in a loss of engine power. Factor were uphill rough and uneven terrain. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(partial) - mech failure/malf, descent - emergency - throttle/power lever,cable - failure,total (cause) - throttle/power lever,cable - fatigue (cause) - Forced landing, descent - emergency - In flight collision with terrain/water, emergency descent/landing - terrain condition - uphill (contributing factor) - terrain condition - rough/uneven (contributing factor) - Gear collapsed, emergency landing - landing gear,main gear - overload - landing gear,main gear - collapsed ## Analysis The pilot was in cruise flight when the airplane experienced a loss of engine power. An engine restart was unsuccessful and a forced landing was made to an open field which ran up slope. Examination of the airplane revealed the throttle cable had broken and the left main landing gear had separated. Further examination of the throttle cable by the NTSB Materials Laboratory revealed the cable had failed in fatigue. ## Factual narrative On July 16, 2003, at 1945 central daylight time, a Keuthan, Buccaneer II, N9110T, registered to Keuthan Aviation Inc., operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, had an in flight loss of engine power in cruise flight near Pell City, Alabama. The pilot made a forced landing and collided with the ground. The left main landing gear separated at the keel beam attach point. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the commercial pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The flight originated from St. Clair County Airport, Pell City, Alabama, on July 16, 2003, at 1900. The pilot stated he departed the airport and climbed to 1,500 feet. He was about 2 ½ miles southwest of the airport when the airplane lost engine power. He immediately checked the magnetos to see if both magnetos were in the "on" position. He suspected there was no fuel going to the engine, and squeezed the pump going to the fuel line and fuel was visible in the fuel line. He primed the engine and attempted an engine restart. The engine did not start, and he made a forced landing to an open field, which ran up slope. A post accident examination of the airplane revealed the throttle cable was broken. Review of the airplane logbooks revealed the throttle cable had 235.8 total hours. The throttle cable was removed from the airplane and forwarded to the NTSB laboratory for examination. Examination of the cable revealed a general bending curvature near the fracture surface and heavy wear was present around 180 degrees of the circumference of the cable within 0.1 inches of the fracture surface. The mating surface of the throttle cable was not recovered. Nearly all strands in the cable had fracture surfaces that were in flat plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, features consistent with brittle fracture mechanism such as fatigue. The fracture surfaces were viewed at high magnification using scanning electron microscopy and they were smooth and consistent with fatigue. The throttle cable was released to a representative for the registered owner on September 11, 2003. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9110T](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9110T-2018-01-29), registration cancelled 2018-01-29, S/N B2B-K063 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Keuthan Buccaneer II - Registry model: [Keuthan BUCCANEER II](https://openairdocs.org/model/keuthan-buccaneer-ii) (registry code 05602A9) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: B2B-KO63 - Airframe hours: 236 - Engines: Rotax 582 64 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Charles B. Sapp - Registered owner: Keuthan Aviation Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, March 31, 2003, 58 hours before - Departed: PLR, Pell City, AL ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 24; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2; last flight review July 3, 2002; seat: left; flight hours: 768 total, 29 in this make and model, 698 as pilot in command, 26 in the last 90 days, 6 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Wind: 30° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 5,000 ft broken - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 75 °F - Altimeter: 30.14 inHg - Observed at: BHM, 35 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20030716016379A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030716016379A), Jul 16, 2003: Amtr BUCCANEERII, Pell City, AL, Substantial damage. (-23) On 07/17/03 I investigated the accident of aircraft N9110T a buccaneer ii. All flight controls were checked for continuity and found operative. A visual… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.